To Stop Dreaming
by Aeka-himme
Summary: (MC) The Spirit World was like a dream, but Chihiro had forgotten how real it was. What happens when a new problem arises and she is needed once more? Past friends unite, and future events fall into place. Please read and review!
1. Sen to Chihiro

**DISCLAIMER:** The storyline of Spirited Away, its characters and everything is copyrighted to Hayao Miazaki. I do not own anything of it, or anything associated with it. This is fan work only. 

**A/N:** Hi everyone! This is my first Spirited Away fanfic, so one may only hope that I don't make a complete idiot out of myself with my juvenile writing skills. I've only just watched the movie a few weeks ago and thought that (seeing as there aren't too many stories in this section to begin with) I'd give this a try. 

..: @}~ + Chapter One + ~{@ :..

The sun was high up in the sky like the usual globe of gold it looks to be each single day and it vivaciously announced the arrival of the beautiful summer's afternoon and the pleasant evening that is to come. A soft breeze eagerly swept about relentlessly and cooled several sweaty faces of the occasional outdoor worker at once. The stems of flowers and grass were gently inclined by the wind, all swaying in the same direction at the same time and passing around a pleasant natural scent. 

Well, about as natural of a scent as you can get in a single small park located somewhere in the east of an incredibly busy city reeking of constant pollution and the slow decay of nature. But no one seems to pay this matter very much mind these days. It was all about making profits, making money, and destroying just about everything that got in your way, wasn't it? 

And the saddest part is, so many are aware of this matter and yet there are so few who chose to make a difference. The small handful of people who make a stand of their opinions and what they think is truly right are easily knocked over and fewer get back up each time. As for the majority, they're so caught up in their busy, everyday lives to even care about the long-term consequences of what they do to anything or anyone. 

The world has become such a terrible place, and just thinking about it forces you into a sort of dark pit of despair and hopelessness because you know that you cannot do anything to prevent the everyday crimes that disrupt this world's moral balance. So the ones like this, trapped in likewise pits, can do but one thing and wish to be spirited away to another world where there is none of that at all… 

..: @}~ +*+ ~{@ :..

"Ogino-san?" 

"Yes ma'am," replied a young girl who looked to be somewhere in her mid-teens and raised from her seat accordingly as an older lady motioned for her to follow. 

The woman lead the girl past several rows of cushioned seats in front of mirrors and counters full of hair cosmetics, and to the lady that was apparently a hair stylist who pointed to a chair around the back gesturing her customer to sit on it. The young girl who had been lead there looked somewhat sullen with the slightest trace of a scowl on her face, and wrinkled her nose as the foul odor of hair dye coming from hair stylist and her customer right next to them, but sat down in the chair obediently. 

Perhaps it was just the girl's imagination, but she could have sworn that the lady flickered her a brief look of disapproval before masking it with a polite smile. Trying not to pay it much mind though it bothered her quite a bit, the girl sat still as the woman draped a long plastic sheet around her body and the chair so that only her head and neck were seen. 

"How long would you like your hair cut miss?" asked the stylist as she began to gently brush the girl's hair. 

"Up to my shoulders please," replied the girl politely. 

"Alright then, two inches," confirmed the woman as she began to spray the girl's hair with water until it was rather wet. 

..: @}~ +*+ ~{@ :..

"Chihiro!" called another girl energetically from behind with long, silky, chestnut brown hair that had several blonde highlights in it, "You cut your hair!" 

"Yeah…" replied the girl called Chihiro a little sheepishly, looking away as she uncomfortably twiddled with one of her newly cut strands. "Does it look that strange?" 

"Of course it doesn't!" replied the other girl incredulously, "It really looks nice on you, but isn't that a little shorter than you said you were going to have it cut?" 

"I wanted two inches but the lady cut four," said Chihiro frowning as she pulled her hair behind her shoulders—or tried to at least, "I don't think she liked me very much though." 

"She must not like people who dress well," replied the girl with a little smile as she eyed the ever-so-classy wardrobe of her friend. 

It was true that Chihiro was dressed nicely enough to walk into an adult business party and be graciously welcomed as if she worked there. What with her dress pants, collared quarter sleeve shirt and sometimes a long black jacket for the colder evenings, how could she not? 

"I suppose you could blame my mother for that, Satsuki" said Chihiro, plucking at her jacket, "She insisted that I dress like this and I've gotten very fond of this style over time." 

"I wish my mother would buy me expensive clothes like that just because she thinks she might as well buy a lot of really nice clothes if she will seldom get to go shopping for clothes," sighed Satsuki sadly, "I really do envy you." 

"Do you think we could find a better way to spend a Sunday rather than envying perfectly innocent people?" asked Chihiro changing the subject; she wasn't good at taking compliments. 

"Hey, I have an idea. Let's go to that new coffee shop they built last week near the park!" suggested Satsuki eagerly and grinned broadly when Chihiro nodded. 

Ogino Chihiro had moved to a rather desolate part of a small city at the age of ten. Though her mother constantly complained of having to travel so far to get her shopping done, none of them complained much about the actual residence. It was one of the new houses that were two stories high with three bedrooms and quite a bit of space, much like the newly built places in suburbs much further out of town. 

At least there was a very nice school near her house where Chihiro easily made many friends on the first day, including Tateno Satsuki. Satsuki had also just moved to the area at around the same time as Chihiro did. Many a time after school when the two of them had finished their homework, they would meet, most often at the convenience store, and explore some of the more unknown places of town and soon found out that there were quite a few of them. 

Now that it was summer, construction workers could be seen all around, building new stores and houses. Pretty soon, Chihiro's mother said hopefully, people wouldn't have to drive to far away towns just to do their shopping anymore. 

When Chihiro and Satsuki arrived at the new coffee shop, they recognized many of their classmates there too drinking hot chocolate, iced drinks, or eating something. When they stepped in, the two girls were overwhelmed with such a sweet aroma that they couldn't resist joining their friends by purchasing a hot cup of English toffee and a slice of cheesecake. Chihiro hadn't had one for a long time, and felt just like a little child again as she sat at that round table with her school friends joining in on the latest gossip which was on yet another place that had just opened and was looking for employees. 

"I think we should go visit it," said one of the girls, "A summer job in this place is hard to find and I hear that employees are allowed to live there." 

"Why would you want to live at work?" Chihiro asked, confused. 

"It's supposedly a hotel or something like that," replied someone else, "And all of these restaurants were built around it that give discounts to people working in their area!" 

Many of the girls thought that working at this Inn would be a great opportunity to earn money over the holidays, but have fun at the same time while they spend some time away from their parents. However, Chihiro didn't see what was so fun about working during the sweltering hot summer when she could be perfectly happy at home reading, playing on the piano or even reviewing some of the school year's notes. So when everyone including Satsuki agreed to go to the place right then, Chihiro said goodbye and went home. 

At first, when Chihiro had first moved to her new house, there was no sidewalk along the road that people could walk safely on until a few months later, but that was after Chihiro had found her own little route to get home. The thing was, she would have to take a long trip through the woods before really getting on her way home, so after the new sidewalks were built Chihiro never used this route anymore. Still, since it had been a while, she decided that she might as well since she had plenty of time to spare. 

Chihiro headed towards the park, a packaged chocolate chip muffin in hand, and a nice summer breeze cooling her cheeks. The soft pat of grass beneath her feet was a pleasant sensation, and when Chihiro saw the hill that was just in front of the forest, she ran towards like a child running towards a playground. When Chihiro got to the top of the hill, she stopped to take in the view. 

Her jaw dropped. 

It was gone, all gone. The trees, the brush, everything was gone and replaced with roads, houses and apartments except one small patch of trees with a little route going through. Chihiro was too shocked to say anything, but just walked over slowly to the small route at the foot of what was left of the rich forest that had a long route going through it that was wide enough to fit a car even. The dirt path was now covered with cement and you could see the houses and building through the feeble amount of trees on the side. 

Chihiro began to walk down the path ever so slowly at first. Then, as if suddenly possessed, she broke out into a frantic sprint for a reason that she could not think of. Chihiro was gripped with a sudden cold fear when she began to run. Why she felt this fear, she knew not, but it was as though she was afraid of losing something very precious to her; something that she could not lose no matter what. So she kept telling herself to keep running, even until her heart bursts. She just needed to keep running. 

Her feet were throbbing, each intake of air was sharp inhaling of ice, her leg muscles were sore and Chihiro felt a terrible cramp at her side, so she took a rest. Still panting heavily, Chihiro collapsed onto a bench she came across. Deciding that she had better get going soon, however, and was wasting time by just sitting around, Chihiro forced her reluctant body to get up. 

About to begin running again, Chihiro stopped in her tracks when she spotted someone in the trees. It was a boy, seemingly around her age judging from the height of his figure, but the shade of the trees hid most of his facial features. One thing that was noticeable though, was the fact that he wore the most peculiar robes of pure white. 

Then, without warning, Chihiro was overcome with a feeling of déja vu and it evoked a pain in her stomach. Crouching over and squinting slightly in pain, Chihiro closed her eyes and opened them again only to find that the boy was gone, as well as the pain in her stomach. What had just happened? 

Shrugging it off, Chihiro went ahead in a light jog until she reached the foot of the trail. There, standing right in front of her was a tall red building with an ancient Chinese roof and decoration on it, and at the bottom were a fine pair of oak doors with a gold-plated border and golden handles. Pushing one of the doors open, Chihiro stepped inside and saw a brightly marble lit corridor in front of her with a long red carpet rolled down it, and lamps on the walls whose glass covers were in the shape of flowers. 

At the other end of the corridor, Chihiro could hear the voice of many people talking at once, phones ringing, and even some laughter. Chihiro quickened her pace. When she got to the end of the tunnel, she found herself in a room with arched ceilings and thin pillars every now and then beside the occasional bench, and there was an office desk on the right side of the room in the corner. Everything was very new and nice looking. People were seated at many of the benches, chattering away amongst themselves and the secretary behind the desk was answering calls and speaking with people in front of her desk at the same time. 

Chihiro walked over to the other side of the room where there was yet another door. Opening it and walking through it, there were a number of houses and small stores tightly huddled together in a little group. Beyond it, there was a wide river and a beautiful ferry waiting on her side of it to accept passengers there and such. For some reason, it seemed odd to see this ferry during the daytime and accepting regular people, but again Chihiro shrugged it off. 

"Chihiro? Is that you?" 

Whirling around, Chihiro saw yet another one of her classmates, Yumi who also lived in the same neighborhood. When Chihiro saw Yumi, she tried not to show any disappointment on seeing her. Sure they used to be friends a couple of years before, but after a while Yumi began to drift away from Chihiro and the rest of their friends and gained a new entourage. It was as though Yumi had got bored with her old friends and so she moved onto some other ones. They remained on speaking terms, but weren't very close after that. At first, Chihiro was upset, and maybe even a little angry, but eventually realized that Yumi just must be one who does not prefer permanence. 

"Are you looking for a job around here too?" asked Yumi, snapping Chihiro right out of what was leading to a very analytical moment. 

"Oh," Chihiro said quickly, "Y-yes I am." 

Right then, Chihiro wanted to clap her hands over her mouth and take back what she had said in the spur of the moment, but she willed her hands and mouth to stay put. She did not want to get a job here! What on Earth was she thinking? Then again, what would she have said if Yumi asked why she was here in the first place? Suddenly dashing to someplace on a mere impulse was rather strange to begin with. 

"Well if you want to get a job, you can only get them on the other side of the river." Yumi said, pointing to the ferry, "I'm going too so why don't we go together?" 

Chihiro bit her lip before she did anything, and tried to think about an excuse to decline her invitation. She felt as though this was the part where her accidental lie came back at her and got her painfully in the behind. But now was not the time to be dallying on about what goes around that comes around; Chihiro needed to think quickly. 

"Um, actually I…" stammered Chihiro as she prayed for any sort of excuse, "I haven't got any money with me to ride the ferry." 

Just when Chihiro was thinking that this excuse worked, Yumi countered her excuse by telling her that the ferry was doing rides for free. 

"But I heard that employees have to live there, I haven't asked my parents yet and I don't have my things…" Chihiro began slowly, hoping that Yumi would just let her go. 

"I have a cell phone with me so you can call them," Yumi said rummaging through her purse and pulling out a tiny little gold phone, "And we both live nearby here so we'll get both of our things right now because I need mine too come to think of it." 

And so that was how it went. Chihiro had no way of telling her mother that she didn't want to work without Yumi hearing, and her parents sounded very happy that their daughter was deciding to do something productive over the summer and they approved of it in an instant. So Yumi and Chihiro walked home together, packed their things, and met up together again. Wondering if it was just fate that brought her to be applying for a job at a hotel, Chihiro brought with her an empty diary to write about her everyday thoughts and experiences at the place. She usually wrote in another one, but this was different, so Chihiro quickly scribbled in her first journal that she was moving out of the house for the summer before shooting out the door. 

When Chihiro stepped aboard the ferry with her bags and all, she was directed to stand at the bottom level with Yumi as the trip would only take about five to ten minutes and most of the usual passengers had already crossed. The trip was short and brief, and Chihiro paid little attention to anything else but the river while leaning against the rails at the side. 

The ferry stopped at the other side and lowered a metal platform for the passengers to walk across. Yumi and Chihiro were the last ones off but hurried ahead of everyone else to get their destination. The girls came across a problem however; neither knew where this hotel place was! Looking around, they saw nothing but small restaurants squished against each other. All of a sudden, without warning, Chihiro got another sharp pain in her stomach and bent over in pain. 

It happened again, that same feeling of déja vu. 

Then, out of nowhere, Chihiro had pictured her father going down a particular direction and then disappear around a corner. Wondering if this was her gut instinct telling her where to go, Chihiro followed him down that path and a puzzled Yumi followed suit. Chihiro kept seeing her father turn left and right, or go straight and up a set of stairs for no thinkable reason whatsoever. Had she been here before? Chihiro wasn't quite sure. She remembered going to a theme park at the age of ten and then helping her parents from… getting lost was it? It must have been, but this place seemed a little different, so Chihiro assumed that it was just her mind playing around. 

Eventually, Chihiro's "father" led them to one of the restaurants that had its food set out on huge platters on a counter with stools set up in front of it, and people sitting on them, taking a piece of chicken or shoveling down some sashimi every now and then. 

Chihiro stopped for a moment, thinking hard about where to go to next, and did not hear when Yumi asked her if she knew what she was doing. But it seemed that she had no clue anymore. Her mind had felt used up, and Chihiro put her bags down and gave her shoulders and arms a rest. 

"What do we do now?" asked Yumi, voicing Chihiro's thoughts, "We can't even find this inn! I am just about fed up with walking randomly around. And I don't care if we've only being wandering around for seven minutes!" 

Chihiro was taken aback by her last words, because she was just mentally remarking that they had only been walking for a very short while. Maybe even less than seven minutes. Yumi huffed around impatiently while Chihiro just stood around thinking. After about thirty counted seconds, Yumi had enough and announced to an inattentive Chihiro that she was going to eat something while she sat there thinking. Chihiro was about to make an objection to this, but decided that that would be being rude, so she remained silent. 

Looking down to her left, Chihiro caught sight of a tall red monument. There was something written in kanji at the top that Chihiro didn't really bother to read. Something was strange about it though because as though Chihiro was drawn to the monument, she picked up her things and climbed up the stairs that lead to it. 

It seemed like an instant before Chihiro was standing right before it the tall structure, and then looked to the side to see another enormous building. The building itself seemed to be built on a different piece of land altogether because there seemed to be a sort of moat surrounding it, and there was a bridge that needed to be crossed in order to access it. Water poured down into the moat in rapids from somewhere that Chihiro couldn't really make out, and through the glass windowpanes she could she people in pink and white robes scurrying out carrying handfuls of towels and food trays. 

Chihiro walked onto the bridge and looked over the ledge to see a train underneath. 

"A train?" said murmured aloud, "Wait a minute…" 

Chihiro turned around slowly, almost expecting what she was going to see next. She turned around completely, and smiled. This was it. 

..: @}~ + End of Chapter One + ~{@ :..

**A/N:** So there is chapter one everybody! I hope you all liked it. All comments, concerns, and constructive criticism is very much welcomed with open arms! This is my very first Spirited Away fan fiction, but not my first one altogether, so I would appreciate some honesty. I would re-read it and all, but my dad needs the computer right now and is getting very impatient, so I'm sorry if there are any mistakes. 

~***Update for May 6th***~   
Thank you SO much to KitKatGirl and Chrissy for letting me know Chihiro's real last name! The one I used was actually the surname of Chihiro's voice actress, Hiiragi Rumi. ^_^ Also thank you to vixen and m_anel for reviewing with your lovely compliments. Actualy replies to the reviews will be posted in the next chapter. Thank you so much! 


	2. From dusk to dawn

**To Stop Dreaming:** (MC – Movie Continuation) After passing that hellish but rewarding stage of adolescence, Chihiro is getting along with everything as she had half a decade ago. In many ways she's changed, but Chihiro doesn't realize how much she's in for when summer arrives, a new market town is built across a river and she gets employed at a bathhouse with her friends. Unfortunately, she's forgotten all about her little adventure in the Spirit World and is left only with vague memories she thinks are from dreams, and a sparkly purple hair elastic. So what happens when a new problem arises and she is needed once more? Past friends unite, and future events fall into place. Please read and review! 

**DISCLAIMER:** The storyline of Spirited Away, its characters and everything is copyrighted to Hayao Miazaki. I do not own anything of it, or anything associated with it. This is fan work _only_. 

**Story notes:** In Japan (or in all of Asia if you want to get technical), last names are said first when telling your full name. For example Chihiro's last name—which is Ogino—comes before her name when said, so you would say Ogino Chihiro. I just want to make it a point that when I say (e. g. Misae's real name) Yorimi Kiyo, Yorimi is the last name and Kiyo is the first. 

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I was really happy when I read the reviews I'd gotten! Though I'm still a little unsure as to whether I should keep on writing, I must admit that it was fun and I think I'll write for the sake of relieving myself of recent stress. Coupling is C&H of course! 

..: @}~ + Chapter Two + ~{@ :..

Chihiro smiled. It wasn't a hotel; it was a bathhouse! At least if she was going to work, it would be somewhere actually worth working. Not that hotels and inns weren't any good, but bathhouses were so much more relaxing inside. 

One tentative step onto the bridge was all Chihiro had time for before her name was shrieked so loudly that she swore she was in danger of becoming deaf. 

"CHIHIRO!!!!" screamed several girls at once. 

She turned around and saw some of her school friends Miwako, Umi, Eimi, Hanako, and Harumi. They all dashed over to Chihiro, with the exception of Harumi who was always very patient and reserved, and began doing and saying all sorts of things to her like shaking her vigorously back and forth or hugging her until she turned purple while asking why she said nothing about changing her mind and deciding to work here after all. 

All the while, Chihiro thought this all rather unusual behavior; they had only been apart for perhaps less than an hour or two. 

"Wait until you see our dormitory," said Harumi, the only one nice enough to leave Chihiro's personal boundaries alone, "It isn't anything extraordinary with separate beds and all, but futons and sleeping bags really do look cozy when there are maybe twelve of them in one room." 

"Twelve?" said Chihiro, a little surprised, "Are the rooms that big?" 

"Not _really_," said Miwako with half of a frown on her face, "But with all of us together it'll be so fun!" she added, erasing any trace of regret written upon her face at once. 

"Yeah!" Umi added cheerfully, "The uniforms are sort of neat and there may even be some cute guys there!" 

Everyone groaned and giggled in unison at Umi's remark with the exception of Chihiro; she didn't even want to be there, let alone worry about getting a boyfriend. But no one really seemed to notice her slightly sullen look, because she developed a sort of technique to hide certain sentiments a long time ago, so on the outside she seemed to be half-heartedly imitating everyone else. 

So after a few moments later when topics for chatter died down and an awkward silence began looming about, the group of girls decided to hurry and register for employment at the bathhouse, excitement filling almost all of them right up to the tips of their hair. The first thing to do was, since the place had just recently opened and there were hundreds of other waiting employees-to-be, line up patiently and listen for coming instructions. 

Luckily, none of them had to wait very long because the actual owner of the bathhouse—who apparently had her own residence there—came down to greet all of them. A sudden hush fell over the dim of the crowd as the owner's remarkable physical features shocked just about everyone. 

She was an old woman, short, but with an unbelievably enormous head and a seemingly bigger nose. Clad in a frilly blue dress with several underskirts and petticoats just barely visible from below its hem, her style looked very old-fashioned indeed. Her grayish silver hair was tied back up in a bun, and there was a great pink wart at the top of her nose's bridge, in the middle of her humungous brown eyes that were caked with thick, acrylic blue eye shadow. Her earrings—a pair of gigantic spheres—were so incredible in size that one would wonder how the woman's earlobes sustained against the weight. 

But despite the poorly hidden gasps of shock or obvious gaping, the woman held herself in such a proud and dignified way that it stressed her high authority, especially to surrounding subordinates. Chihiro felt herself stiffen slightly when the lady was introduced as Mistress Yubaba and she got a clear view of her at last. As absurd as it sounded, she could have sworn she knew this lady! There was no doubt about it; she had seen this character before. With such outstanding characteristics and figure, it was surprising that anyone could forget this Mistress Yubaba. 

For some time, Chihiro stood there, dumbly gawking at Yubaba so she pain little attention to the short speech that was being given out about the way employees should act, dress, what is expected of them and so on. There was also a bit of a lecture on punishments that would be "easily distributed" to employees not as diligent than is required. 

"I can't list all of the punishments I have for you bums in the period of my lifetime," Yubaba sneered with a glare as she looked around at the now seemingly frightened audience, "but if I hear one single complaint I turn you all into squealing piglets to be eaten for evening supper, understand?" 

There was a stiff, but general murmur of understanding from everyone, though they were confused by Yubaba's peculiar choice of words. Most chose to casually ignore this, and waited uneasily for the few men that handed out contracts to be signed and such. Chihiro quietly accepted hers, wondering quietly why she hadn't bolted out of there right then. It must have been because her own feet seemed rooted to the spot making her unable to move. 

Pens were also handed out and everyone was instructed to sign this contract. Most unfortunately, Yubaba had neither the time nor the patience to test or personally interview each and every one of them, so she hollered out to them that she would merely have certain people observing their work for a certain time period and judge whether he or she is worthy of staying there. 

Once everyone had written their name down, Yubaba had all of them line up again. First she would take a look at each person's name, then with a pen of her own she would cross out certain characters and leave only one left. This would be their name to be used at all times when in the bathhouse. But there were cases when a person got a new name altogether. Umi was 're-named' to Miyuu, Satsuki was now Ki, Miwako was now Mia, Eimi was Saiki, Hanako was Naru, and Harumi was Keiko. Each re-naming took a while, or a minute and a half at least. When it was Chihiro's turn, she was afraid that Yubaba would scare her too much that she might keel over and collapse if she should take too long. However, when it was Chihiro's turn, the strangest thing happened. 

Yubaba loomed over her and seemed to be observing her with a look of appraisal, which only took a few seconds, looked down at her paper and 'humph'-ed in an almost knowing sort of way—something she did for absolutely no one else. 

"Oh, it's you," she growled in a dismissing sort of way, "Very well Sen, hurry and get out of my sight." 

Chihiro was as baffled as anyone who heard this—or rather she _would_ have been, had she not been so distracted by something else. That name, Sen, she knew it! There was something about that name! The character itself came from one in her name, and yet, this was very important to know. It was also important to remember her real name as well! But why was it? Hadn't it been some sort of advice she had been given in that strange dream she had some… five or six years ago? 

Chihiro instinctively clasped the sparkly purple hair elastic that she always wore in her hair. A friend had given it to her, she remembered, and for some reason it never got worn out or never seemed to be able to break. It was as though there was something magical about it. She had forgotten, over the years, the details of who had given this to her and why, but she remembered something about it being a protective charm, so she wore it always whether it be in her hair or just on her wrist. 

"Hey girl, what are you doing still standing there?" someone said irritably, sharply prodding Chihiro's shoulder. "Get moving, all of you." 

Twirling around on one foot, Chihiro fought to suppress a small gasp as she got a good look at the woman who addressed her. She was tall, looked to be maybe eight or nine years older than Chihiro, with long straight cut hair that neatly fell to her waist and with large brown eyes. 

As Chihiro stood there and gaped, the woman's facial expression seemed to change as well. From being stern, there was an incredible transition to looking shocked beyond belief. However, not wanting to give out the wrong impression, the woman wiped the look off of her face and instructed for all of the girls to follow her. 

Obediently, Chihiro, her friends, and a few others began following the woman accordingly. They didn't travel very far. Having only gone up a few staircases—a little scary seeing as there were no surrounding walls or even railings—no one was too tired when uniforms were being given out. It was pain pink with a darker maroon strip of cloth tied around the waist to keep the shirt in place. It was really like wearing a one-color kimono with pant rather than a skirt, and the shirt did not open up either. Then, there was an apron to wear during working hours. 

The woman, it turned out, was named Lin and she was the manager for most of the new female workers. Lin kept on glancing at Chihiro when she thought she wasn't looking, when at the same time, Chihiro couldn't stop looking at Lin. Chihiro just knew she had seen Lin before and it was killing her mind trying to figure out how she knew her. 

When everyone had changed and dressed, everyone was shown their rooms (at least nine to ten per room) and Lin was kind enough to grant Umi's—or Miyuu's rather, request to have her friends and her all in the same room. Besides Chihiro, Miyuu (Umi), Ki (Satsuki), Mia (Miwako), Saiki (Eimi), Naru (Hanako), and Keiko (Harumi), there were three other girls sharing that room as well: Misae, Yoko, Rea. 

Everyone introduced themselves, and said a little about their life as well. It turns out that the three girls were very interesting people, and Chihiro had imagined her being able to get along with each one without difficulty. 

Misae's real name was Yorimi Kiyo whose father was a computer engineer and her mother a graphics designer. Her family had moved to the area just after her school ended and her parents suggested she not waste her whole summer doing nothing. She explained how because her family kept moving around and her interests and tastes seemed to be more maturely developed than others her age, making close friends had been rather difficult, but it was most likely that her family would be staying at this place for quite some time. 

Yoko's real name was Toneko Masaya. Though she was rather shy sounding at first, Chihiro could easily tell that this girl was usually very exuberant in expression and a real happy-go-lucky kind of girl you read about in Manga and such. She had a supposedly very sweet and adorable boyfriend who presented her with a bouquet of flowers every chance he got, was always very insistent on kissing the back of her hand, and was one of the top students in his classes at school. 

Chihiro mentally pictured the thousands of bouquets that must be drying up in her room at home with envy. After all, Chihiro had only gotten three or four bouquets in her life. All being from her parents except one, Chihiro had gotten one when she had first moved away from her friend, one from 'graduating' from elementary school, one from getting out of junior high school, and one for actually getting a role in the school play. And mind you, these bouquets were rather small except for the one from her friend. 

Lastly, there was Rea. Her real name was Ainoko Yui. She shared Chihiro's liking for art, which included music, painting, drawing, and even occasional singing. Though Chihiro supposed that Rea sounded a whole lot better than she did because she couldn't stand hearing her voice. As for artistic skill, even our modest Chihiro could admit (to herself) that she was perhaps a notch or two ahead of Rea, but—to no one's surprise—because Rea began to explore the world of art at eight, not six. 

"Hey, do any of you have a _boyfriend?_" asked Mia excitedly, "Besides Yoko that is." She added with a smile. 

Miyuu, Ki, Saiki, and to everyone's surprise, Keiko raised their hand with a bit of a blush on their faces. Surprised gasps were let out from everyone who hadn't put up their hands. Questions broke out at once, to all four of the girls. Hardly anyone could comprehend what another was saying. Soon enough however, Naru gained the floor. 

"Alright, alright girls, be quiet! Otherwise Lin will march right back up here and murder us for being so loud!" she said, standing up and waving her hands around. 

The noise dimmed down and Naru smiled satisfied that everyone had taken heed of what she said. 

"Now," said Naru, "Miyuu first. Who is he? Speak of some details girl!" 

Miyuu fixed her gaze at the hard, wooden floor blushing a deep scarlet as she was rather shy about it all. It took a while for her to speak—a while being an entire forty-five seconds—and everyone was dead silent and still, afraid that even the slightest movement would make her not want to speak. 

"His name is Ryuusuke," Miyuu said at last, "Seventeen years old, same school, class E. He is working here too I think. He says he wants to be able to see me…" 

"Yes?" said Rea, leaning in closer. 

"…Everyday." 

"You're kidding!" 

"Miyuu, that is so sweet!" 

"Have you kissed yet?" 

"How long have you been going out?" 

"Does he treat you with flowers every week?" 

"That is not fair!" 

"I want a boyfriend!!" 

It was too soon that Chihiro had enough. She crawled away from the crowd and opened the door to sit by the balcony and get some fresh air. Talking about boyfriends was absolutely no fun when you had never had one. And for goodness sake, she was almost sixteen! But with school and all, she felt like a relationship that may not even last long was just an immense waste of time. Besides, she had yet to meet a guy who wasn't completely perverted or only thinking about things like that. 

Chihiro walked over to the wooden balcony that protected anyone from falling off the edge. The rooms for employees were at the very edge of the building, so it was more often than not that your door leads to a nice outdoor hallway with a roof over it. Cool evening breezes washed over her and Chihiro sighed deeply as she leaned onto the wooden rail, fully enjoying the silence and solitude. 

"The river is calm tonight." 

Looking to her right, Chihiro saw someone there. A boy, looking no more than a year older than she stood there with a calm, reserved look on his face. He was staring absent mindedly out into the river, pondering something deep. Chihiro blinked. The boy had short, straight-cut, even black hair that went down to about his chin and his bangs were even straighter cut so he almost looked to be wearing a wig, but somehow this look suited him and did not make Chihiro want to look away in disgust. The boy turned to face Chihiro and she took note of his sharp, gleaming, emerald green eyes that—oddly enough—looked strangely familiar. He wore robes similar to hers, only his were pure white with blue trousers and a purple strip of cloth tied around his waist. 

"Do I know you?" said Chihiro curiously, before she could stop herself. 

The boy's eyes seemed to widen a bit in what looked to be a mild shock, and Chihiro wanted to kick herself for being rude. He must have thought her to be someone else, or even just wanted to make a friendly conversation. Of course she didn't know him! How stupid a question was that? 

"I-I'm sorry," she said quickly, but the boy looked away remaining silent. 

Unsure of what to do, Chihiro decided to do the same. She let her eyes linger on the dozens of multicolored lights on the other side of the river, and the reflection of it in the water. It was a beautiful sight, Chihiro had to say. Cities always looked that way when glanced at from a distance at night, and it always granted her strange sort of satisfaction to look upon it like that. 

"I used to think that way too," said the boy beside Chihiro suddenly out of nowhere, "Until I grew tired of looking at the same scene every night. Eventually, you will too." 

"What do you mean?" asked Chihiro, already eerily aware of the fact that this person had practically just read her mind. 

The boy blinked a few times, looking at Chihiro with a blank expression written on his face. He took his own sweet time in replying; evidently he was in no hurry. A dead silence filled the air for some time save the squeals and shrill giggles heard from Chihiro's room—courtesy of either Miyuu, Yoko, or Saiki. Soon beginning to feel uncomfortable from having this strange, though rather handsome boy staring right at her, Chihiro looked away. Those eyes… they were easily the most prominent thing about him, and when Chihiro looked into them, it was as though they could see right through her and somehow understand her feelings, as if they had been close friends once. 

"Chihiro?" 

Chihiro couldn't stop her head from jerking back to face him again, her eyes open wide, and her mind wondering if they heard what they did. 

"Huh?" said Chihiro, baffled as she swore the boy had just said her name, "What did you say?" 

"Chihiro," the boy repeated, speaking in the same tone, "Is your name Chihiro?" 

Slowly, with a hint of apprehension, Chihiro nodded silently. 

"I see," he replied, looking away again. 

'Not _again_,' Chihiro thought will a mental scowl. She really wished he wouldn't do that, seeing as it made her feel rather uncomfortable just standing there, not sure as to whether she was supposed to say anything, or just stand there like an idiot. But no sooner had Chihiro thought that, had the boy turned to her again. 

"I'm sorry, please excuse me," he said quietly, "Goodnight Chihiro." 

And with that he went into a room nearby which actually turned out to be a staircase. 

Not knowing what else to really do or say, Chihiro just stood there. An odd, tingling feeling prickled the back of her spine and make Chihiro shiver it off. An odd feeling overcame the sixteen year-old girl. Something squirmed around in her stomach, and she didn't notice earlier, but her heart suddenly seemed to be relieved of being in an airtight grasp. 

"He…" 

Chihiro looked around once to see if anyone had been watching this at all, and saw no one. 

"He didn't tell me his name." Chihiro murmured quietly to herself before the door to her dormitory slid open to reveal a very curious Mia. 

"Sen? What are you doing out here?" she asked, "We've finally convinced Keiko to start talking about her boyfriend, you have to hear this!" 

Chihiro refrained from frowning a little when she heard Mia address her as 'Sen'. Didn't the name Chihiro suffice? Looking briefly at the staircase that the 'mysterious boy' had gone down, Chihiro nodded to Mia and slid the door closed as she stepped inside. 

..: @}~ +*+ ~{@ :..

In the girls' room, there was no floor. All you could see were rows and rows of puffy sleeping bags, moving gently up and down due to its occupant's slow breathing. At the very edge of one side, right next to where the door was, lay a dark green sleeping bag, which belonged to Chihiro. She was sleeping peacefully like all of the rest of her roommates until a strong gust of wind burst through the door and forced the young girl to wake up. 

Sleepily, annoyed, and most reluctantly, Chihiro crawled out of her sleeping bag to shut the door closed. As she approached the door, grasped it, and tried to slide it shut, she grunted in frustration and then let go. The door would not close! Taking a deep breath just before another strong gust of wind came along, Chihiro tried to shut the door again and even managed to get it to move a few centimeters before she tripped on something and fell flat on her face. 

"Ouch, that hurt…" she mumbled as she sat up straight and looked out into the city. 

It was as lovely as it was a few hours ago when she lad seen it last. Lights were still on, and unless Chihiro's eyes were deceiving her, the ferry was still in service as well. 

"The ferry's still running this late?" Chihiro asked quietly to herself, voicing her thoughts. "I wonder why." 

Chihiro walked rather clumsily to the wooden rail of the balcony, leaned against it, and saw multicolor-dressed people crossing the bridge to the bathhouse. Was it that late at all? Then, just as Chihiro was getting seriously confused, she looked down into the water and saw something that nearly made her scream. Black, shapeless shadows were rising out of the water, making it look alive or something. 

The last thing she knew was she felt a warm hand placed on her shoulder, and before Chihiro could see who was behind, all went dark. 

..: @}~ +*+ ~{@ :..

The first thing Chihiro felt was something hard and pointy sharply prodding her side. Though she turned over to try and shake off the sleep-depriving object, it was no good. In fact, the poking increased and so did its strength. Another three seconds passed and Chihiro finally announced—rather crankily I should say—that she would get out of bed. 

It was very gray outside and the sun had just barely risen. A light fog gently hovered over the ground and a crisp morning air woke the more sleepy girls completely at once. Chihiro sighed in pleasure as the scent of dewy grass and dampness filled her nostrils. 

Naru, who was apparently leading the group, proceeded to descend down the stairs that Chihiro had seen the boy descend down the night before. Everyone followed silently, some still trying to yawn off the sleep that rested in her. Earlier, everyone had hastily agreed to be as inconspicuous as possible because they didn't want to give the employers the idea that they were trying to assassinate something or something. And of course by 'everyone' I mean any of the girls who were more than half awake. 

When the girls finally made it to the lower floors where the baths and guests' dining rooms. The floor was wooden, like everywhere else that wasn't matted, and the walls were paper windowpanes with wooden frames like traditional Japanese homes, only some of the paper was nicely decorated with painted flowers or animals. 

After descending down another set of stairs and reaching a point where there were two hallways to go down, it was agreed to split up and meet back in the room in a little while. Chihiro, Keiko, Saiki, Naru, and Misae went left while the rest of the girls headed right. Naru was leading the girls who went right, as she seemed to be enjoying the position of authority, but from the looks of it, Misae seemed to like that position more than Naru did seeing as she seldom had it. 

More 'forks in the road' appeared and the girls split up once more: Chihiro and Misae went one way while the other went the other way. As they walked, the girls began to converse as quietly as possible. Misae was shy and reserved sometimes, but Chihiro could see how she usually did her best to give a good impression out at all times. When Chihiro asked Misae if moving was as terrible for her as it had been when Chihiro was ten and had to move, Misae said that it depended on how fond she had grown on the friends she made. 

"It's sad that I am usually very reluctant to become too close with anyone, what with my parents always having us move and all," Misae had said to her, "but I think I'll really love it here, and it will be okay because I'm probably going to live here for a long time." 

"What's a long time?" asked Chihiro. 

"I don't know," said Misae, frowning in consideration, "Maybe four or five years? I'm turning seventeen in a month's time so I'll probably move out and live on my own when my parents decided to move again." 

"That's good," replied Chihiro with a little smile that Misae returned. 

Misae then opened her mouth to say something else when she stopped dead and blanched. Chihiro, wondering what on Earth could be the matter looked ahead and imitated Misae exactly. There, casually strolling the halls early in the morning when all was quiet was one of the male managers. A rather strict and severe one he was too. It seemed that he enjoyed making people work under him until they collapsed from being so tired. 

Not even knowing that she possessed such reflexes, Chihiro instinctively grabbed Misae by the arm and dashed behind a randomly opened door, and slid it shut. Then, pressing their ears against the protective barrier between the manager and the two girls that had practically just saved their lives, they waited until the sound of footsteps died down and the halls were silent once more. 

Adrenaline rushing through both of the girls from that narrow escape, they scrambled out of the room and into the hall without another moment's waste, Chihiro leading. Only it was indeed unfortunate that Chihiro was leading because she stopped looking where she was going for a second, and when she looked back she had just barely managed to skid to a halt before something blue and white. 

Misae skidded to a halt herself too late, and crashed right into Chihiro sending both girls crashing down onto the clean, hard, wooden floor. Chihiro groaned slightly in pain and Misae was rubbing a sore spot on her head. When the girls heard a male clear his throat and Chihiro found her nose inches away from a pair of ankles, her stomach disappeared. 

Gulping, the girls looked up and Chihiro gasped as she found herself face to face with the very same boy she saw in the night. He looked down at Misae blankly for a second, and then when his sharp green eyes traveled onto Chihiro, his expression seemed to soften ever so slightly. Chihiro didn't really notice this, as she was too embarrassed at having been caught wandering the halls, but Misae was extremely observant and her eyes darted back and forth from the boy to Chihiro. 

"Chi—" he began to say until the three of them heard quick footsteps nearby. 

"Well it looks like we have some early risers and some eager employees," said an unpleasantly familiar voice around a nearby corner. 

The three looked up and saw Lin walk casually around the corner and up to the now trembling girls, feeling more like disobedient children than anything. 

"Oh hello Haku, I see you've found them first," said Lin dully, nodding her head carelessly in the direction of the boy, "What are you two girls doing, wandering around the halls this early?" 

"I requested for them to assist me with some personal affairs Lin," the boy called Haku said calmly. 

Lin's eyes narrowed, very much resembling a deadly serpent in Chihiro's opinion, but she was feeling too nervous to think upon it much. Lin glanced suspiciously from Haku, then to Misae, but when she saw Chihiro, her whole expression changed from dull to a satisfied knowing. 

"I should have known," said Lin, rolling her eyes a little, "Okay, so you get to steal Sen for a one-on-one talk for now Haku but I'll be back. In the meantime, you can follow me. You don't want to be interrupting their quiet time." She said casually, jerking her head to Misae and beckoning her to follow as she left. 

"Thank you Lin," Haku said, turning to look at Chihiro. 

Misae was perplexed, about a half as much as Chihiro was bewildered. At first, they were both caught at the contradicting idea of Haku and Lin being strict and severe to actually being forgiving and understanding, but now there was evidently something else going on that the girls didn't know about, which included Chihiro. Still, there was no way of communicating with Misae without Lin or Haku seeing, so Chihiro let herself be vulnerably led away by Haku and Lin dragged Misae away. 

As they walked together, Chihiro had no clue of what to say. Should she be grateful? Or should she get right to the point of asking what was going on? Once again that dreadful silence lapsed between the two, and Chihiro was left being the one extremely uncomfortable again. She didn't even know where Haku was taking her, but it seemed as though they were headed outside. 

Something that Chihiro learned at once was that watching Haku while simultaneously walking was a bad idea because twice Haku had to stop and pull Chihiro into him because she was about to crash head first into a wall or pillar. And then that left the two into a position more awkward than the silence. Chihiro would just sort of back away looking at her feet and shyly thank him, a deep red looming over her young features. 

Haku didn't seem to care though, and Chihiro was amazed at how he could keep such a straight face all the time. But at the same time she felt a little pity for him. His eyes told you that it pained for him to feel such little emotion. 

"Um … so …" began Chihiro, trying to think of something to say, "Y-your name's Haku?" 

Haku didn't say anything, but Chihiro knew that it was anyway because Lin had called him that. 

"So… um, where are we going?" Chihiro asked, feeling more stupid by the second. 

"Into the garden," Haku replied simply. 

Now they were outside and crossing the same bridge that connected the bathhouse to land. Haku brought Chihiro through a small gate and into a labyrinth of beautiful multicolored flowers. He stopped at a small white bench that stood next to a stone fountain. 

"Sit down," he said to Chihiro who sat down as he did. 

Haku then looked at Chihiro with the strangest look written all over his face. He seemed to be trying to hide it, and Chihiro wondered to herself why it looked so obvious. She'd never known him before or anything, but that was not her number one concern. What she wanted to know what exactly what was that look on his face? Was it fondness? Worry? Sadness? Nostalgia? 

"Only two out of four," said Haku all of a sudden. 

"What?" Chihiro blinked. 

"…Have you never noticed that you mumble your thoughts aloud?" said Haku quietly, not in a mocking voice, but in the same calm tone as always. 

Unbeknownst to Chihiro, her face burned with a cherry red. Again. 

"W-what? No I d-don't, what are you…" Chihiro stammered, hoping that this boy was kidding. 

_How embarrassing!_

Then, realizing that this boy wasn't lying, Chihiro bit down on her lip and hunched her shoulders in a determination not to speak again in this boy's presence. 

Silence took the place of chatter but only one of the mute conversers felt uncomfortable. The other wore a stony expression that did not change, or move. He was frozen, even when he spoke, but when he looked at Chihiro, something… changed. Though Chihiro couldn't quite understand what did, she didn't care to; it was all too confusing. 

More silence followed. 

Chihiro felt a subtle inner satisfaction as she noted that her lips were still sealed shut. She must not have spoken! God bless. 

"You don't remember do you?" 

"Huh?" Chihiro never found that she could understand what Haku said when he would just say something out of nowhere. 

"Nothing, I'm sorry," Haku said looking away so Chihiro couldn't tell as to whether he was angry or disappointed. 

Chihiro looked down at her shoes shuffling in the grass for a bit, and couldn't help but feel bad for something. But _why_? 

Then it struck the girl that she had not thanked Haku. He had saved them from the angry fits of the manager Lin after all. The least he deserved was a grateful smile, even if it was forced. 

"Um… Haku-san I—" 

But he had gone. 

Chihiro turned around in her seat and look around in all directions but saw nothing. The only thing that had left to keep her company was a sudden strong gust of wind. Feeling a little put out and ridiculous, Chihiro headed back to the bathhouse, wondering what the whole point of them coming out was. 

It was a good thing she hadn't looked up in the sky though, otherwise she would have gotten a real shock indeed, seeing a white flying dragon and all. 

..: @}~ +*+ ~{@ :..

"I demand you tell me _everything_!" 

"I did!" Chihiro sighed for what felt like the hundredth time. 

"Stop saying that!" Misae said scowling in annoyance, "You told me nothing!" 

"And that's exactly what happened!" 

"Don't get smart with me young lady," Misae said sternly, promptly poking Chihiro's shoulder, "What's up with you and that Haku guy?" 

"I don't know!" said Chihiro, extremely frustrated; Misae wasn't the _only_ one who wanted answers for goodness sake! 

"How can you not know?" asked Misae, knocking on Chihiro's head and wondering if it was nothing but hollow wood. 

"Don't ask me," replied Chihiro irritably, swatting away Misae's hand, "How many hours are there in a year?" 

A thoughtful silence fell over Misae as she tried to multiply twenty-four by three hundred and sixty-five in her head. 

"Eight thousand, seven hundred and sixty!" Chihiro snapped, "How can _you_ not know that?" 

"Some of us think of our clothes more than memorizing how many hours are in a year Chihiro," Misae said jokingly, and then pretended to sigh, "And here I was thinking you were one of us." 

And without any kind of signal, the two girls broke out into a merry laughter. 

"But all joking aside, what happened?" asked Misae as their laughter died down, "Did he just walk you here and leave without saying a word?" 

"I wouldn't exactly say that…" 

"Then what happened?" 

Chihiro frowned as she tried to remember everything that happened. 

"He took me into the garden for some reason and we sat by the bench together. It seemed for a second that he wanted to say something to me but then just disappeared as soon as I looked away." Chihiro said simply. 

"He took you into the garden?! Just the two of you?!!" Misae exclaimed, biting her nails. 

When Chihiro nodded slowly, Misae squealed. She squealed very loudly too. 

"Did he say anything to you?" Misae inquired eagerly. 

Chihiro grimaced ever so slightly. She felt like she was at an interrogation! 

"Not really, no," Chihiro said quietly, shaking her head. 

"What do you mean by not really?" 

"If I asked him a question, he replied with an answer five syllables or less! Happy?" Chihiro snapped, a little harsher than she had intended. "I don't know why you're getting all excited about it." 

"So there's no more to it?" asked Misae, crossing her arms. 

"None," Chihiro replied firmly. 

"Nothing to wonder about?" 

"No." 

"No feelings?" 

"No." 

"No love?" 

"…Misae, you're just like Umi." 

..: @}~ + End of Chapter Two + ~{@ :..

**A/N:** That's all for chapter two everybody! Sorry if it was pretty boring but I'll get into the plot all in good time so don't you worry. I've decided the main basis my plot will follow so I gave a little more detail about this in my summary and added it at the top of the chapter. I also would like to say THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED!! **m_anel:** Thank you so much for reviewing!! In all honesty, I sort of based the whole fashion sense thing on myself. *Sheepish grin* Of course Haku will be in my story! And romance is very good indeed. ^_^ **Chrissy:** Oops, I'm sorry about the whole last name. I didn't have a clue as to what it was, so I just used Hiiragi Rumi's since she's the Japanese voice actress for Chihiro in the movie. ^_^ I changed her name though, and thank you SO much for telling me! **vixen:** Thanks, I'll try updating as much as possible! **KitKatGirl:** Yes, I'm again very sorry about that but I didn't know Chihiro's last name at the time. I have changed it though thanks to helpful reviews though! :) I'm also so glad you liked the first paragraph! I love your taste! ;p **Chiisana-Tori-chan:** Yay, thanks so very much! Good to know my trying to explain the extremely-difficult-to-describe strange town is being recognized. ^_^ These reviews mean a lot! **Cettie-girl:** Thanks a lot, I'm still not finished planning it all out, but I'll do my best. ^_^ 


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